1863 Day two of the Battle of Gettysburg: General James Longstreet leads the main Confederate attack, but Union forces retain control of their strategic positions. After three hours, the total number of dead at Gettysburg stood at 35,000.

1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits segregation in public places.

1964 U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signs into law the Civil Rights Act, in a televised ceremony in the White House. The Act prohibits racial discrimination in employment and education and outlaws racial segregation in public places such as schools, buses, parks and swimming pools.

1966 Billie Jean King wins her first (of six) Wimbeldon single titles.

1966 Death of Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet (b. 1900)

1966 The French military explode their nuclear test bomb codenamed AldTbaran in Mururoa, their first nuclear test in the Pacific.

1969 The International resort/casino opens in Las Vegas Boulevard, Nevada. With 1500 rooms, it is the world’s largest hotel, with the world’s largest casino, at 29,000 square feet.

1969 The Jimi Hendrix Experience break up.

1970 Birth of Yancy Butler, American actress

1970 Jessie Street, Australian civil rights activist, dies.

1970 Near Sivas, Turkey, a magnitude 4.8 earthquake occurs.

1971 Birth of Evelyn Lau, Canadian author

1972 Death of Joseph Fielding Smith, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1876)

1973 Birth of Peter Kay , British comedian

1973 Death of Betty Grable, American actress (b. 1916)

1973 Match Game begins its 1970s run.

1973 Swede Savage dies from injuries at Indianapolis 500.

1974 Birth of Sean Casey, baseball player

1974 Fernando Mameda of Portugal sets record for 10km (27:13.81).

1975 Birth of Erik Ohlsson, Swedish guitarist (Millencolin)

1976 Birth of Tom�? Vokoun, Czech hockey player

1976 North and South Vietnam, divided since 1954, reunite to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

1976 North and South Vietnam reunite to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

1976 US Supreme Court rules death penalty not inherently cruel or unusual.

2000 Vicente Fox is elected President of Mexico, as candidate of the rightist PAN (National Action Party), ending 71 years of PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) rule.

2000 Vicente Fox Quesada is elected the first President of MTxico from an opposition party, the Partido Acci=n Nacional (PAN) after more than 70 years of continuous rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI).

2001 The world’s first self-contained artificial heart is implanted in Robert Tools.

2002 Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world in a balloon.

2002 Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.

2003 At the International Olympic Committee session in Prague, Vancouver, British Columbia is declared the Host City for the XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010.

2004 Death of John Cullen Murphy, American comic strip artist (born 1919).

2005 Death of Ernest Lehman, American screenwriter (b. 1915)

2005 Live 8, a series of 10 simultaneous concerts take place throughout the world, raising interest in the Make Poverty History campaign.

2005 Ten Live 8 concerts are held around the world in an attempt to force G8 countries to address poverty.

2006 A presidential election is held in Mexico. Felipe Calder=n is confirmed as the winner on September 5.

2006 Death of Jan Murray, American comedian (b. 1916)

2007 10th anniversary of the collapse of the Thai baht, which triggered the Asian Financial Crisis.

2007 Death of Jimmy Walker, American basketball player (born 1944).

2007 US President George Bush annuls the 30-month prison sentence given to Lewis Libby for perjury and obstruction of justice.

2007 Venus and Saturn are in conjunction, separation 46 arcsecs.

2008 Colombia soldiers disguised as members of a non-government organization trick FARC rebels into releasing fifteen long-held hostages. They are French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, held for six years, three American defence department contractors, and eleven members of the Colombian security forces.

2008 In England, the country’s largest house builder fails to raise 500 million pounds (US$1 billion), and is forced to write down the value of about 660 million pounds worth of land. The company’s share value is now about 1/15th of a year ago.

2009 American forces led by 4000 Marines begin a large offensive in southern Afghanistan against Taliban forces.

2009 California begins issuing billions of dollars in “IOUs” after failing to start the fiscal year with a balanced budget. With a US$26.3 billion deficit, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declares a fiscal emergency.

2009 Siemens AG agrees to a US$100 million settlement with the World Bank over bribery allegations.

2010 An oil fuel truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of Congo kills at least 230 people; many were trapped in buildings that caught fire from the explosion.

2010 Twenty thousand people march through Israel calling for the release of captured soldier Gilad Shalit, being held by Hamas for four years.